1900 
237 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
The Smith Girl’s Slight. 
Jeff Slogan and old man Matterson 
sat at the kitchen table long after the 
remains of supper were cleared away. 
It was a night of reminiscence with the 
old man, and over his crabapple cider 
he told of the bears and wolves he had 
slain in the days when Tennessee was 
young. “My old granddad left me his 
rifle,” said he, glancing toward a corner 
of the room, “and many a time I’ve been 
advised to have a percussion lock put 
on it, but a flintlock was good enough 
for him and it’s got to be good enough 
for me. Of course you’ve seen the gun, 
but I’ll show it to you again.” 
“It’s a beauty,” said Jeff. 
•'Well, yes, unless you can find a bet¬ 
ter word. And let me tell you some¬ 
thing, but you mustn’t say anything 
about it. Granddad was beginning to 
get pretty old and little things had be¬ 
gun to bother him. One of his daugh¬ 
ters married a no-account stage-driver, 
and his half-witted son cut a fellow all 
to pieces at a sawmill. So he fretted a 
good deal. Well, one night he was com¬ 
ing home from a muster, and a man 
named Bridge Peters with him. All at 
once granddad stops in the road and 
says to Bridge: ‘If I only knowed which 
one of them stars up thar was my un¬ 
lucky star, I’d shoot it out.’ Bridge 
asked if he thought his gun would tote 
that far, and the old man hooted like 
an owl. ‘Don’t' you worry about that,’ 
said he. ‘Just pick out the star you 
think is the cause of my bad luck and 
out she goes.’ 
“Bridge was a sort, of reckless fellow, 
so he looks up, he does, and says: ‘There 
she is, that star off there about 15 feet 
from the moon.’ The old man didn’t 
hesitate a minute. He raised Ms gun— 
this here old one right here—and she 
cracked like a whip—and what do you 
think happened? Out went the star 
like snuffln’ a tallow candle. Bridge he 
took to his heels, and it was enough to 
scare any man, but Granddad didn’t run. 
He walked off slow to show the other 
stars that he wasn’t afraid, but he be¬ 
gins to git sick at his stomach, and by 
the time he got home he could hardly 
hold up his head. And, sir, he lay for 
four weeks, and then died.” 
Jeff looked hard at the old man and 
said: “I don’t believe a word of it.” 
“How do you account for it?” 
“I account for it by not believing it; 
that’s how.” Jeff was in a sorrowful 
mood that night, and was not prepared 
to believe even the most apparent truth. 
“What are you thinkin’ about, Jeff?” 
“Liza Smith and her party.” 
“Sorter in the dumps because She 
didn’t ask you?” 
“Well, I don’t like it.” 
“Why don’t you kill her dog?” 
“What good would that do?” 
“Why, don’t you know that the best 
way to git even with a high-headed wo¬ 
man is to kill her dog? It is—there’s 
a sort of a charm about it, and if you 
kill a woman’s dog and she don’t find 
out who does it, she’ll fall in love with 
you. It’s a fact; she’ll drap right down 
into pure love. Say, that Smith girl has 
a dog that she thinks the world oi. 
Why don’t you kill him as you go by 
there to-night on your way home?” 
“I’m half a mind to. Got a pistol?” 
“No, but you can take Granddad’s 
gun.” 
“Is she loaded?” 
“With a double charge of powder and 
a slug an inch long.” 
“I’m half inclined to do it.” 
“I’ll bet the gal drops down into the 
purest sort of love. I jest want to see 
it; there ain’t nothin’ puttier to me than 
a fust-rate article of love.” 
Only when he was out in the road did 
Jeff realize that he carried the old gun 
upon his shoulder. He halted and, bare 
of head, sat upon a rock to let the cool 
came within sight of Smith’s house. He 
could hear the merrymaking of the 
Smith girl and her guests. Through a 
window he saw the company dancing; 
and the Smith girl danced with a fellow 
named Ab Squat. Jeff hated Squat. He 
was cross-eyed and low of brow. He 
thought that he saw her smile at Squat, 
and he gripped his gun. But there was 
no murder in his heart. He aspired only 
to assassinate a dog. Jeff saw him com¬ 
ing down the hill. 
The dog came at a gallop, cut a caper 
of delight, and before Jeff could fire, had 
licked his hand. Then there came a 
gulp of remorse. He put down his gun, 
stroked the dog, and hugged him in his 
loneliness. “I wouldn’t hurt you, old 
fellow,” he said. “They thrust you into 
the darkness, and they don’t invite me 
out of it, and so we are brothers. Hello! 
there is the moon, brim full, just above 
the trees.” The dog whined. “Just as 
well shoot at it as to bark at it, old 
fellow,” he said. He took sight and 
touched the trigger. Off went the gun. 
And then Jeff’s heart flew to his mouth, 
'i he moon exploded, and the sky was full 
of fiery snakes. The dog howled. Jeff 
dropped the gun and, over logs and 
through bushes, tore home. 
When Jeff reached home the world 
was dark save the pale stars slowly 
weeping out their light. He went to his 
room, and sitting at the window, strove 
to reason with himself. But it was of 
no use to reason. He had seen the moon 
fly to pieces and till the air with 
snakes. “There’s no use in talking, I’ve 
done it,” he moaned. “The moon is 
gone. No use trying to reason—gone. 
And here I am sick at the stomach, and 
will keep on getting sicker till I die. 
People can’t plant their potato crops in 
the dark of the moon, because there 
won’t be any. And when I die the 
moon will come back, and all the people 
will be glad.” 
He went to bed and tossed for a long 
time; he slept finally, but what a sleep! 
Old women came and begged him to 
give them back the moon. They couldn’t 
make soap without it. Maidens came 
and on their knees implored him. There 
was to be no more love-making. Poets 
flocked from afar to revile him; and the 
ocean stood dead, with no tide. When 
ne awoke the sun was shining. And he 
smiled, believing that it was all a 
dream, but just then he heard his father 
talking in an adjoining room. “Yes, 
they were having a good time over at 
Smith’s, but somebody shot out the 
moon, and-” 
Jeff fell back, sick almost unto death. 
They called him to breakfast, but he 
moaned that he was sick, and they let 
him lie there. He was gagging when 
his father came into the room. 
“What’s the matter with you, Jeff?” 
“I don’t know, sim.” 
“What time did you get home?” 
“I don’t know, sir.” 
“Seem to be sorter short on knowin’, 
don’t you? Were you at Smith’s when 
the moon was shot out? What’s the 
matter with you? Why, you’ve got the 
ague. Well, sir, it was a runny thing. 
You know that Smith doesn’t like for 
his company to stay late, so he told the 
boys that they might remain till the 
moon went down. Well, an ingenious 
fellow hit upon a plan. He got hold of a 
cheese box, put a kerosene lamp in it, 
pasted a piece of greased paper over it 
and, just as the moon was goin’ down 
behind the hill, hung the box high up in 
a tree. The old man can’t see very well, 
and it fooled him completely till some 
fellow came along and shot—what’s the 
matter with you? What are you sayin’? 
Goin’ to git up, are you? What makes 
you cut them capers: Folks say you 
look like me, but I never seed the day 
that I had as little sense ‘as you’ve got.” 
—Saturday Evening Post. 
Rural Recipes. 
FIVE BREAKFAST DISHES, SAVORY AND 
SEASONABLE. 
<9 
A variation from ordinary sausage 
meat, which will make a pleasant 
change, is Virginia beef sausage. Mix 
two cupfuls of finely-chopped raw beef. 
1V 2 cupful of fat salt pork minced very 
fine, two teaspoonfuls of powdered sage, 
a scant teaspoonful of pepper—the pork 
should furnish sufficient salt—and one 
When wanted for breakfast slice three- 
fourths of an inch thick and either 
brown in the oven or fry ’in a hot, well- 
greased pan. 
As a variation from ordinary baked or 
poached eggs, what are known as St. 
Pancras eggs may be recommended. 
They make a light and digestible dish 
for, invalids. Separate the yolks from 
the whites of five eggs; keep each yolk 
separate; whip the whites to a stiff 
froth, adding a saltspoonful of salt; 
butter five small cups, put the whites 
into them and carefully drop the yolk 
into the center of each; dust with salt 
and pepper; place the cups in a shallow 
pan of hot water, put in the oven and 
bake five minutes, or till the whites are 
set. Serve in the cups. 
Everyone does not care for the fishy 
saltness of anchovies, but a very savory 
breakfast dish for those who do is an¬ 
chovy toast made as follows: Toast a 
small round of bread for each person, 
butter and put in vegetable dish. Make 
a sauce of one pint of milk and two 
tablespoonfuls of flour; when thickened 
add level saltspoonful of salt, dash of 
cayenne and three teaspoonfuls of an¬ 
chovy essence or five anchovies boned 
and pounded. Pour over the toast; 
serve hot. 
Scotch woodcock is almost as mislead¬ 
ing a title as Welsh rabbit; the former 
dish has, however, something to do with 
birds, since it contains eggs. Make a 
half-pint of cream sauce, using one and 
one-half tablespoonful of butter, one 
flour and a cupful or cream. Season with 
one-fourth of a saltspoonful of white 
pepper, and a half-teaspoonful of Wor¬ 
cestershire sauce. Shell and chop fine 
five hard J boiled eggs, add them to the 
sauce, cook for three minutes and serve 
on well-buttered rounds of crisp toast. 
Hominy bread is a nice change from 
some of the familiar hot gems served at 
breakfast. When preparing the hominy 
for breakfast cook twice the quantity 
needed, or enough to leave two cupfuls 
for the bread. When ready to make the 
bread, reheat these two cupfuls, stir in 
one tablespoonful of butter, add one cup¬ 
ful of yellow cornmeal and a half-tea- 
spoonful of salt. Then beat four eggs 
very light and stir them into the bat¬ 
ter, which should now be about as thick 
as boiled custard; turn it into a well- 
buttered shallow tin and bake in a mod¬ 
erate oven for 20 minutes. When done 
break into squares instead of cutting, 
and serve hot. 
YOUR dealer in lamp- 
chim neys — what does 
he get for you ? 
You can’t be an expert in 
chimneys; but this you can 
do. Insist on Macbeth’s 
“pearl top” or “pearl glass” 
whichever shape you require. 
They are right in all those 
ways ; and they do not break 
from heat, not one in a hun¬ 
dred. Be willing to pay a 
nickel more for them. 
Our “Index” describes all lamps and their 
proper chimneys. With it you can always order 
the right size and shape of chimney for any lamp. 
We mail it FREE to any one who writes for it. 
Address Macbeth, Pittsburgh, Pa. 
The WorlcTs Standard. 
All jewelers sell Elgin Watches in cases to suit 
every taste. An Elgin watch always has the word 
•‘Elgin” engraved on the works-fully guaranteed 
Our new booklet about watches is ready to send 
everyone who desires it—free. 
Elgin National Watch Co., Elgin, III. 
Dyes for Rag Carpets. 
DIAMOND DYES MAKE COLORS THE 
SUN CANNOT FADE 
They Do the Most Dyeing for 
the Least Money. 
When you dye rags or yarns for carpets and 
rugs, you want colors that will hold till the goods 
are worn out. Diamond Dyes are the only pack¬ 
age dyes that will make such colors. 
For cotton or mixed goods, be sure to get the 
special fast dyes for cotton or mixed goods, and 
for wool, the fast wool dyes, and you will have the 
brightest, fastest colors there are. 
If you use dyes that claim to color both cotton 
and wool with the same dye, you run the risk of 
spoiling your goods, or of getting colors that will 
fade right out. They may dye cotton, but they 
will only stain wool. Diamond Dyes will always 
give satisfaction. 
Sample card of colors and direction book for 
home dyeing mailed free on request.— Wells, Ricu- 
AltDSON & CO., Burlington, Vt 
Send for Free Trial Sample. 
Ingram’s Pile Cure in tubes, to be squeezed through 
syringe-shaped end. Painless. Instant relief Per¬ 
manent cure. Safe, harmless, reliable. 50 cents by 
mail or at drug stores. Sample for stamp. 
E. F. INGRAM & CO .,73 Tenth St., Detroit, Mich. 
WAIUH AND CHAIN FOR ONE DAY’S WORK. 
Boys and Girls can get a Nickel-Plated 
Watch, also a Chain and Charm for selling 
’"'jtesof Bluine at 10 cents each. 
II address by return mall and 
forward the Bluine, postpaid, and 
BLUINK CCK r Box50o'Concord 
“THEY come and go like clouds UPON a SUMMER SKY.’’ 
The Advantage of Permanency. 
Since the SINGER sewing-machine was first invented, more than four hundred 
different makes of sewing-machine have come and gone. Now it is a well known fact that 
sewing-machines wear out in parts; if such parts cannot be duplicated, the whole machine 
is no longer of any value to its owner. 
All SINGER parts are absolutely interchangeable. Exact duplicates of each and 
every part are always and instantly obtainable at SINGER salesrooms in every city in the 
World ; this makes the SINGER everlasting. 
WHAT A CONTRAST WITH THE ANONYMOUS MACHINES 
SOLD BY IRRESPONSIBLE DEALERS. 
Many a woman has experienced the annoying loss of some small part from one of 
these^machines and has then found that the dealer had no duplicate or that the manufactu¬ 
rers had gone out of business and she must get out of her dilemma as best she could. 
HALF-A-CENTURY’S product. 
During the last half-century nearly Seventeen Million SINGER Sewing-Machines 
have been made and sold. This tremendous product would make one gigantic machine 
head that would reach from the SINGER factory at Elizabeth, N. J., to the factory at 
Kilbowie, Scotland. Its base would be about three thousand miles long and twelve hundred 
miles wide. The top of its needle-bar would be fifteen hundred miles above the earth. 
air fan him. From over the Mlltop tablespoonful of lemon juice. When 
came the bark of the Smith girl’s dog. thoroughly mixed pack it in small round 
Jeff got up and strode along until he tin cans and set away to become hard. 
Sold on Instalments. old Machines Exchanged. 
The Singer Manufacturing Co. 
SELLING ONE MILLiON MACHINES ANNUALLY. 
